Old Engine Oil Black Ale | Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Legend has it that Old Engine Oil was dedicated to our Head Brewer’s love of classic cars. But it’s the thick, dark, chocolatey viscosity that reveals the real inspiration behind the name.

Reviews by surfer4life:

S - Mmmm...toffee, chocolate and a bit of coffee all the usual suspects with a roasted malt, but throw in some hazelnut and bit of a creamy smell and raisins. A good bit of alcohol esters in the nose as well. This one smells great!

T - Massive roasted coffee taste in the front coupled with dark chocolate with for the mocha flavor. The alcohol is hidden well, barely any hints of it. A tad bit o hops for some balance, but doesn't dominate at all. Some real good malty sweetness on the finish manifesting in the form of figs, dates and plums. Truly great taste.

A: Black. Out of curiosity I held a powerful flashlight behind my sampling glass, and still only got faint ruby tinges. Light brown thin head that fades to a ring, spots of lace. I'm looking for viscosity; looks thick, but I want milkshake.

S: Powerful, almost acrid on first whiff. Lots of roasted malt, oat.

T: Bittersweet chocolate is there, but mostly simple oat and roasted malt. Some vanilla mid-palate. Tasty, but unoriginal. Good long bitter finish.

M: The reason why I sought this out!... It's ok. Definitely thick, but not engine oil thick. The carbonation is fine and restricted, which helps.

O: Maybe I was expecting too much, but I really don't see what the big deal is. It's good, but I think it benefits greatly from people reading "viscous, chocolatey" on the bottle and then finding/inventing those characteristics. The "roasty", however, is there in spaded.

I was sorta disappointed by the look of this beer.. I expected something black and viscous.. It poured rather thin. The color did settle to be pretty black and opaque with thin tan head. Smell was nice and sweat, with dark fruits and some dark, burnt sugar. Taste is similar, with more roasted notes and a hint of coffee. Mouthfeel is a tad thin, but nice and smooth.

A: Dark as, well, old engine oil. A tan half finger head that petered out quickly.

S: Dark chocolate, malts, a bit smokey. Some coffee notes, too.

T: Follows nose in a smooth, passionate, easy drinking style. Great for sipping. Dark and lovely.

M: Medium to heavy with medium carbonation.

O: Glad I got to try this British staple. A fine porter that drinks like a stout. But then, there's not that much difference between the two. Tasty. Let it warm for maximum viscosity and thermal breakdown.

$ 13.12 (Including tax)/four pack of 11.2 oz cans ($ 0.293/oz) at Spec’s DeZavala Road, San Antonio, TX.
Undated can from shelf, stored at 41 degrees in house reefer, served at 45 degrees in a hand washed and dried shaker.
Aroma – Faint malt, a little cocoa.
Head – Enormous (Maximum 10.5 cm, basically the entire shaker, aggressive pour), tan, low density froth with many rocks, average retention for the first half of the head retraction then slow, diminishing to a ragged wide ring and a complete layer. Head retraction leaves broken lacing.
Lacing – Excellent! Wide, nearly complete rings of tiny to small bubbles.
Body – Very dark brown/black, opaque.
Flavor – Light taste of roasted malt, very slightly bitter, with some hints of cocoa. No hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate – medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression: An excellent English porter with the roast malt of a robust porter and the low hoppiness of a brown porter. This is one that can be easily and rapidly consumed!
Appearance 4.5, Aroma 3.75, Flavor 4.5, Palate 4.25, Overall 4.5.

I must say I had never heard of this until now,pours a deep brown with some nice ruby hues with a great creamy head that sticks very well.The aroma is a little caramelly and dry.A taste of unsweetened chocolate and some fruity notes with a slight dry finish.Very impressed with this beer.

Appearance  Black as night in the body with a nice, full head that went down slowly and laced the glass.

Smell  This has a tight aroma. After it warms a bit, the burnt malt and toffee character come out nicely. Other faint smells include coffee, chocolate, and milk shake.

Taste  Definitely milk shake with a dash of coffee. This is well-blended and complete. The milky chocolate flavors mix with the coffee and a bit of candy, maybe Heath Bar meets Hershey, and a wonderful dark malt backbone. Everything is even-keeled though and very nice.

Mouthfeel  No carbonation and very creamy smooth. This is full-bodied but even. No sharp edges to this ale.

Found this at City Beer in S.F. and plunked down $5.69 for the 11.2 oz bottle. I had to know. What'd I have to know? How the base for Harviestoun's amazing Ola Dubh tasted (I've had the 12, 16, and 30, the last of which was on tap--possibly cask--at Blue Palms Brew House in LA) like. It tastes like awesomeness.

To quote Spinal Tap, "How much more black can you get? None. None more black."

Impenetrable by light, the old engine oil moniker is fitting, not merely boastful. Sometimes I like to go for liquid coal and this is the go-to beer for such occasions.

Syrupy, roasty, velvety, and to quote someone less famous (my friend Jeff from Montana), "richer than 3 feet up a bull's ass."

If no Ola Dubh is available, go for this, especially as a chaser for your top shelf single malt of choice.

Had this at BBC in Franklin, MA. It pours very dark, almost black. The head was creamy tan but small and dissipated rather quickly. There is some light lacing as well. Smell is of malt, chocolate, and maybe hops. The hops definitely come through on the taste, it's somewhat bitter with a hint of chocolate and malt. Smokey like a Porter usually is which is why I'm a Stout fan. The mouthfeel is pretty good but not the best. Drinkability: I'd take it if I had it, but I'm not sad that I don't. Definitely not bad, but at the same time it's nothing special.

A-Black body with very little white head, not as thick as the name suggests
S-Roasted grain, ale fruit flavors, earthier hop/yeast
T-Roasted Falvor with some bready malts, very mild hop nice bitter aftertaste, some sweetness would have helped.
M-A little bit thin on the body with decent carbonation
D-I could go for another

This was my first sample of this style and a pretty darned good way to start. Not sure if all the Old Ale style is porter-like but this one certainly was for me. I shall explore further!

A: Black of course but there is a hint of a golden walnut brown at the edges when the head clears. Head is short lived but is coffee stained and leaves a slight lacing

S: I just couldn't wait for it to be poured (bad boy) and got a good whiff of blackberry from the bottle. When poured, it was the same but then I recognized the malt, chocolate and coffee. As the drink progressed, it definitely took on a more acidic fruit smell but wasn't too dominant.

T: Frickin' delicious. Fruity acidic start aided with some carbonation with a big dominant syrupy roasted malt middle. It ended with a bitter coffee, chocolate bitterness and the hops were there but oh so slightly. This is an artfully balanced brew for sure. A very fulfilling taste for me.

M: Lovely round creamy buttery smoothness. A wee bit of carbonation livened things up just a tad. The bold taste made me expect a thicker body but it was lighter than expected. Don't misunderstand me, the mouthfeel was not disappointing at all, just not what I expected.

D: I think I could drink quite a few of these. Very satisfying evening drink. It's not a session beer but it isn't intended to be. For me, it's a trip back in time. I am currently reading A History of Suds and Civilization from Mesopotamia to Microbreweries by Gregg Smith and I can just imagine being at an old Inn drinking one of these. Read the book - you'll get what I mean.